Inventory shortages are helping home prices continue to break record highs, according to an analysis by realtor.com®. “Never in history have there been more eyes on fewer homes than today,” says Javier Vivas, director of economic research at realtor.com®. “The price gains observed in the last days of March tell us the market is on pace to see half of the homes listed above $300,000 this summer. This means buyers are not just having to
Renters may see some relief in their pocketbooks, as hikes in rental costs slowed in the first quarter of this year, according to RealPage, a real estate technology and analytics firm. The average rent for new leases increased 2.3 percent to $1,310, marking a decrease from a 2.6 percent hike in the fourth quarter of 2017. Further, it’s the smallest yearly gain since the third quarter of 2010.Since reaching a peak in 2015, at 5.3 percent, rental
Sellers may be shooting themselves in the foot when they leave an empty, dark, or cluttered room unstaged, according to a recent realtor.com® article. Empty rooms, for example, can “kill a home sale, especially if the other rooms are furnished,” says Allison Bethell of FitSmallBusiness.com. Imperfections stand out more in an empty room, and the absence of furnishings could make it more difficult for buyers to visualize how to use the space.A
A growing number of startups are helping renters and landlords navigate an increasingly hot rental market. Some companies aim to teach cash-strapped renters how to qualify for an apartment and budget for hikes in rental costs, while others help them raise thousands of dollars for a security deposit or improve their credit to get approved for a lease.Still others are focused on protecting landlords. For example, startup company Rhino offers securi
The California Geological Survey is helping state residents learn how close they live to a fault line, using interactive maps that can be accessed via smartphone. Users can type in an address or share their location to see the nearest high-risk earthquake zone. The maps also reveal the risk of liquefaction—when land loses its stiffness under the stress of an earthquake and becomes like quicksand—or a landslide.State lawmakers ordered the c
Pending home sales reversed course in February, increasing in most areas of the country even as a shortage of homes for sale and higher home prices struck many markets, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Wednesday.NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index—a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings—increased 3.1 percent month over month in February to a reading of 107.5. Despite the uptick, the index remains 4.1 percent below a
Several fair housing organizations sued Facebook on Tuesday, accusing the social media giant of allowing landlords and brokers to discriminate based on gender and family status on its advertising platform. They argue that advertisers could use the personal data of Facebook users to then target ads that could exclude certain populations from viewing them.The National Fair Housing Alliance and three other housing groups filed the lawsuit, alleging
Some housing economists believe that “granny flats” could be the key to alleviating housing shortages across the country, and they are calling on more municipalities to ease up the rules to allow such dwellings to be built on or into more single-family homes.Nicknamed “granny flats,” these accessory dwelling units tend to be separate, cottage-like structures, but may be a converted garage or basement that houses an extra living area. Some
By the time millennials turn 30, they will have paid $92,600 in rent, according to a new study by RentCafe, a nationwide listing service for rentals. It’s more than previous generations paid when they were between the ages of 22 and 30. RentCafe researchers studied how much millennials, Generation X members, and baby boomers spent on rent during that eight-year time period of their life by using U.S. Census Bureau statistics dating back to 1974
Today’s successful workplace leaders strike a balance between strength and determination with empathy and understanding, says Don Rheem, author of Thrive By Design: The Neuroscience that Drives High-Performance Cultures (ForbesBooks, 2017), and CEO of E3 Solutions, a provider of workplace metrics and manager training. As a broker-owner, your agents and staff members need someone they trust rather than someone who simply brandishes a title o
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